Burzum - Black Metal Band

Burzum is a black metal band formed in 1991 by Varg Vikernes. While he had been playing music since as early as 1988, under the band name Uruk-Hai and in Old Funeral along with Abbath of Immortal, Varg Vikernes only started the Burzum project in 1991.

Developing along other Norwegian black metal giants, albeit always slightly ahead of the curve, one-man band Burzum not only produced some of the most quintessential music to come from the genre, but also lent his expertise to other bands like Mayhem (on De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas) and Darkthrone (on Transilvanian Hunger). In addition, Burzum is also considered a major influence on the so-called third-wave of black metal, spawning bands such as Phantom and Neraines.

Burzum released its self-titled debut Burzum in March 1992, making it the first major Norwegian black metal album to see the light of day. In 1993, Burzum released its sophomore effort Det Som Engang Var, which features some more atmospheric, minimalist and ambient tracks. Burzum finally raised the bar on the black metal genre to a point it could not surpass with 1994's Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, an album widely regarded as the pinnacle of the black metal genre. In 1996, while Varg Vikernes was incarcerated for the killing of Euronymous, the Misanthropy Records label released a fourth Burzum album titled Filosofem, which Varg describes as the ultimate "anti-black metal" album. Burzum is often labelled a "NSBM" (National Socialist Black Metal) band due to comments made by Varg Vikernes on White Genocide, mass non-White immigration and the Palestinian plight in some interviews, although the relevancy of the label itself is heavily disputed.